PR 4479 
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1906 
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COLERIDGE'S 



THE Hip OF THE flHGIEHT 
IttAHlHEH 



EDITED 

WITH NOTKS AND AN INTRODUCTION 
BY 

M. A. EATON, A. B. 



EDUCATIONAL PUBLISHING COMPANY 

BOSTON 
New York Chicago San Francisco 



LIBRARY of CONGRESS 
TwoGoDies Received 

APR 80 1906 

Cooyrifflit Entry 
CLASS CL xxc. No. 

/V? 7 9^ 

COPY B. 



Copyrighted 

By educational PUBLISHING COMPANY 

1906 



INTRODUCTION. 



THE AUTHOR. 

Samuel Taylor Coleridge was born in the 
village of Ottery St. Mary in Devonshire, in 
the year 1772. His father was rector of the 
little parish and had a large family, of whom 
Samuel was the youngest. He lived here 
until he was nine years old when, unfortu- 
nately for him, his father died. 

As he was without money or friends, he 
was sent to the great London Charity School, 
Christ's Hospital, which Lamb has described 
so vividly in "Elia." 

Here his life was by no means an easy one. 
Once, indeed, he tried to escape, and became 
the apprentice of a shoe-maker, but he was 
forced to go back to school again. Coleridge, 
however, had an unfailing refuge from all the 
ills that afflicted him. This was the dream 
world in which from his earliest years he 
lived much of the time. This " shaping 
spirit of imagination," he says, "Nature gave 

3 



4 INTRODUCTION 

me at my birth." In school at London he 
would lie for hours on the roof gazing after 
the drifting clouds and trying to fathom the 
blue of the sky. 

Once this too vivid imagination very nearly 
involved him in grave difficulties. He was 
walking along the* Strand on a busy day, 
swinging his arms and fancying himself swim- 
ming in an imaginary sea. Suddenly his 
hand came in contact with the pocket of one 
of the passers-by. It was promptly grasped 
by the outraged stranger, who exclaimed, 
" What, so young and so wicked ! " " But I'm 
not wicked nor a pickpocket, sir," remon- 
strated Coleridge ; " I thought I was Leander 
swimming the Hellespont." The gentleman 
was so impressed with the incident that it is 
said he obtained membership for the youth in 
a circulating library. 

Coleridge was not a mere dreamer, how- 
ever. He became the first student in the 
school and, as a result, was transferred at 
nineteen to Cambridge University. Here he 
might have distinguished himself had it not 
been for his erratic temperament. Debts 
drove him to London, where he enlisted in the 
Dragoons, and, although he subsequently re- 



INTRODUCTION 5 

turned to college, he soon left again without 
taking a degree. 

He made one friend at this time, who had 
a good deal of influence upon his life. This 
was the poet, Robert Southey, who was 
just then under the influence of the socialis- 
tic ideas of the French Revolution. The 
two young men decided to establish an ideal 
community in the wilds of America, in which 
the citizens were to work at farming two 
hours of the day and develop their souls the 
rest of the time. 

Unfortunately, however, their ideas out- 
stripped their pocketbooks, and while they 
were still dreaming at Southey's home in 
Bristol, their plans were forever checked. 
The two poets fell in love with two sisters 
and were soon after married. 

Coleridge lived at Clevedon, near Bristol, 
with his wife, Sara Fricker, for two years. 

His life here was a struggle. He had 
married, with his usual carelessness in such 
matters, on practically no income at all. His 
health was poor, he was quite unable to do 
any good work except when the spirit moved 
him, and his wife did not prove to be of a 
sympathetic temperament. His work at this 



6 INTRODUCTION 

period, therefore, is of little moment, and it 
was not until he met the poet Wordsworth 
in 1797 that his real power began to awaken. 

In this year Coleridge moved to Nether 
Stowey, in the English lake region, Words- 
worth's home, and their famous intimacy 
began. Wordsworth was then full of the 
idea that poetry should deal with the simple 
emotions and events of daily life and express 
them in simple language, not in the artificial 
diction of the eighteenth century poets. 

These theories, which were destined to 
have a profound influence upon English 
poetry, bore immediate fruit in a joint volume 
called "Lyrical Ballads," to which Coleridge 
contributed "The Ancient Mariner" and a 
few other poems. 

The book did not make a great impression 
at the time and Coleridge left Nether Stowey 
soon after. For two years he travelled in 
Germany with the Words worths, where he 
translated Schiller's drama, " Wallenstein," 
and became profoundly interested in German 
philosophy. 

In 1800 he returned to England and settled 
in Keswick with Wordsworth. The poetic 
muse, however, seemed to have abandoned 



INTRODUCTION 7 

him. He was ill, too. He had always been 
a suflerer from neuralgia, and the habit of tak- 
ing opium to alleviate the pain was beginning 
to cloud his intellect and his will. He be- 
came restless, and for the next fifteen years 
he led the life of a wanderer, estranged from 
his family and powerless to do anything 
worth while. 

At last he placed himself under the care of 
a surgeon in London, and here, though his 
health was shattered, he gradually regained 
the power to work. The work, however, 
was now chiefly that of a literary critic and 
philosopher, though he wrote a few brilliant 
fragments of verse at this time. Young 
poets and critics flocked to see him and the 
fame of his conversation and lectures spread 
far and wide. 

But he never fulfilled the brilliant promise 
of his youth. He " gave you the idea," says 
Carlyle, "of a life that had been full of 
sufferings ; a life heavy laden, half van- 
quished, still swimming painfully in seas of 
manifold physical and other bewilderment." 
Much even of his best work is fragmentary 
and incomplete. His flashes of genius often 
left him before a poem was finished, and the 



8 INTRODUCTION 

mood would never again return. He tells us 
that while writing "Kubla Khan," which 
came to him in his sleep as a kind of vision, 
he was interrupted by a person who called on 
business. When the interruption was over 
the vision had fled and the poem still remains 
a fragment. 

Colerids^e died at Hisrhgate after a lino^ering: 
illness, July 25, 1834. In spite of his weak- 
ness and failures and of the incomplete char- 
acter of his work, those fragments stamp him 
as one of the very greatest of lyric poets. 
He can invest the simplest words with a 
music and charm rare in any language, he 
can paint pictures in three words that have 
an almost uncanny vividness, he can make 
the marvellous startlingly real, and the weird 
fascinating without being horrible. How 
much greater he might have been we cannot 
tell. As Hazlitt said, " To the man had been 
given in high measure the seeds of noble 
endowment, but to unfold them had been 
forbidden him." 



INTRODUCTION 



THE POEM. 

Had Coleridge written nothing else, the 
" Ancient Mariner " would have made for him 
an immortal name. Yet neither the author 
nor his friends, Southey and Wordsworth, 
thought it a poem of much consequence. 

It came to be written in this way. In the 
autumn of 1797, Wordsworth and his sister, 
with Coleridge, started one afternoon to visit 
Linton and the Valley of Stones. As none 
of the three had much money they decided to 
pay the expenses of their little journey by 
writing a poem for the JSFew Monthly Maga- 
zine. In the course of their walk they 
planned a poem founded on a dream of Cole- 
ridge's friend, Mr. Cruikshank. Wordsworth 
had been reading, a day or two before, in 
" Shelvocke's Voyages," when he came across 
the following passage : " We saw no fish nor 
one sea bird, except a disconsolate black 
albatross, who accompanied us for several 
days, hovering about us as if he had lost him- 
self, till Hartley (my second captain) observ- 
ing in one of his melancholy fits that this bird 



10 INTRODUCTION 

was always hovering near us, imagined from 
his color that it might be some ill omen. 
That which, I suppose, induced him the more 
to encourage his superstition, was the con- 
tinued series of contrary tempestuous winds, 
which had oppressed us ever since we got 
into this sea. But be that as it would, he, 
after some fruitless attempts, at length shot 
the albatross, not doubting (perhaps) that we 
should have a fair wind after it." 

This passage led Wordsworth to propose 
that the mariner kill one of those birds on 
entering the South Sea, and that the guard- 
ian spirits of the region take upon them- 
selves to avenge the crime. 

That same evening the poem was begun, 
but Wordsworth soon found that they could 
not collaborate successfully and he retired 
and left the field to Coleridge. 

The poem is in the style of the early 
ballads, though Coleridge varies the stanza 
by the introduction of additional lines. This 
stanza is especially adapted to the mys- 
terious twilight region full of nameless terms 
and strange shapes into which the story takes 
us. 

The "Ancient Mariner" is not merely a 



INTRODUCTION 11 

supernatural tale, however. It has a fine 
spiritual significance, very simply and ten- 
derly expressed. It is simply that love is 
the power which makes all created things 
kin. The soul that hates any living thing, 
that harbors any thought of malignance or 
cruelty toward an innocent creature, even 
if that creature be only a bird or a water 
snake, dwells apart, shunned by the living 
and shut out even from God. It is when he 
learns how to love even the humblest of 
God's creatures, that he begins to be con- 
scious of the bond which binds him to others. 
Only then does he feel the beauty of the sea 
and sky, the meadows and the forest streams. 
Then for the first time he learns the songs 
of the birds and sees the divine in every 
man. Then at last he can approach God, for 
his very act of loving, his joy in living things, 
is itself a prayer. 



12 INTRODUCTION 



OTHER POEMS TO READ 

" Christabel " — First Part. 

"KublaKhan." 

"Ode to Dejection." 

"Ode to France." 

"The Dark Ladie." 

"Frost at Midnight." 

"Love." 

"Lines to Wordsworth." 

"Youth and Age." 

"Complaint and Reply/* 



INTRODUCTION 13 



BIBLIOGRAPHY. 

Coleridge's Poetical Works. 

'' Life of Coleridge " (Englishmen of Let- 
ters).— IT. i>. Tram. 

"Literary Histor}^ of England." —ikfrs. 
OUphant. 

" Studies in Literature." — Edward Bowden. 

"Studies in Philosophy. "—J. C S, Shairp. 

"Essays and Studies." — ^. (7. Swin- 
burne. 

"Coleridge" (Ward's English Poets).— 
Walter Pater. 

"Memoirs of Wordsworth."— (7AWsi5o/?7ier 

Wordsworth. 
" Biographia Literaria."— (7o?er%e. 



PART THE FIRST. 



An ancient 
Mariner meet- 
eth three Gal- 
lants bidden to 
a wedding- 
feast, and de- 
taineth one. 



It is an ancient Mariner, 
And he stoppeth one of 
three. 
By thy long gray beard and 
glittering eye, 
'Now wherefor stoppst 
thou me? 



1. It is. That is, the man is. This is a form of 
beginning common in old tales and ballads, and has the 
merit of vividness. 

1. Mariner. Mariner, Bridegroom, etc., are capi- 
talized because they are used throughout the poem as 

titles. 

2. One of three. The odd numbers, three, five, 
seven, and nine, have always been associated with the 
symbolic and supernatural. Thus there are three Fates, 
nine Muses, three Graces, etc. The world was made in 
seven days? the Resurrection took place on the third 
day, etc. See also the Blessed Damosel. 

" She had three lilies in her hand. 
And the stars in her hair were seven." 

15 



16 THE ANCIENT MARINER 

II. 

" The Bridegroom's doors are 
opened wide, 
And I am next of kin ; 
The guests are met, the feast 
is set: 
Mayst hear the merry din." 

III. 

He holds him with his skinny 
hand, 
" There was a ship," quoth 
he. 
^^ Hold off! unhand me, gray- 
beard loon ! " 
Eftsoons his hand dropt he. 

2. Kin. That is, the nearest relative. 

4. Mayst. Thou mayst. An effect of impatience is 
produced by the omission of the pronoun. 

6. There was, etc. Note the abruptness with which 
incidents and objects arc introduced. This produces an 
incongruous, uncanny effect, like objects in a dream. 

6. Quoth. Said. 

7. Loon. A stupid, foolish fellow. 

8. Eftsoons. Straightway. 

8. Dropt. Coleridge is foud of this form of the 
past tense. 



The Wedding- 
Guest Is spell- 
bound by the 
eye of the old 
sea-faring man, 
and constrained 
to hear his tale. 



THE ANCIENT MARINER 

lY. 

He holds him with 
tering eye — 
The Wedding-G 
still, 
And listens like a 
child: 
The Marinej 



The Wed 
a 
He ca^ 
And th 

The 



"The 



M€ 



9. Cleared. Passe 
10. Drop. Sail do\ 



THE ANCIENT MARINER 

Below the kirk, below the 
hill, 
Below the lighthouse top. 

YII. 

The sun came up upon the 
left, 
Out of the sea came he ! 
^ he shone bright, and on 
the right 
t down into the sea. 

VIII. 

d higher every day, 

1 for church. 

'louse, being the highest 
of sight. 

t is, they were sailing 

se : 
< retire, 

3 I of the night, 

.£ of fire, 

T3 ^illar'd light ! 

S ed robe 

vnward drawn, 

;he globe 

.he dawn. 

— The Voyage. 



m 

is 



THE ANCIENT MARINER 



19 



Till over 
noon 



the 



mast at 



The Wedding- 
Guest heareth 
the bridal 
miisi'- ; but the 
Mariner con- 
tinueth his tale. 



The Wedding-Guest here 
beat his breast, 
For he heard the loud bas- 
soon. 

IX. 

The bride hath paced into 
the hall, 
Ked as a rose is she ; 
IS^odding their heads before 
her goes 
The merry minstrelsy. 

X. 

The Wedding-Guest he beat 
his breast, 

3. Bassoon. A musical instrument. It serves as a 
bass among the "wind instruments of an orchestra. 

5. Bed as a rose. Compare Burns' 

" O, my love's like a red, red rose." 

6. Nodding. Instinctively keeping time to the 
music with their bodies, as a musician is apt to do. 

7. Minstrelsy. Literally the music of the minstrels. 
The word is here used to mean the minstrels themselves, 
and accounts for the singular form of the verb goes. 



20 THE ANCIENT MARINER 

Yet he cannot choose but 
hear; 
And thus spake on that an- 
cient man, 

The bright-eyed Mariner. 

XI. 

Jy'lSr^" " And now the Storm-Blast 

toward the 

'°"^^p°^«- came, and he 

Was tyrannous and 
strong : 
He struck with his o'ertak- 
ing wings. 
And chased us south along. 

XII. 

With sloping masts and dip- 
ping prow. 
As who pursued with yell 
and blow 

7. South along. A rather archaic use of the adverb. 

8. Sloping. Because the ship was pitched over by 
the gale. 

8. Proio. The forward end of a ship. 



THE ANCIENT MARINER 21 

Still treads the shadow of his 
foe, 
And forward bends his 
head, 
The ship drove fast, loud 
roared the blast. 
And southward aye we 
fled. 

XIII. 

And now there came both 
mist and snow. 
And it grew wondrous 
cold : 
And ice, mast-high, came 
floating by. 
As sreen as emerald. 



&^ 



XIV. 

The land of ice, ^nd throuo^h thc drifts the 

and of fearful O 

.onnds, where SnOWy cUftS 

1. Treads the shadoio. That is, keeps just his 
shadow's length ahead of him. 

4. Aye. Continually, always. 

7. Mast-high. An old book of voyages published 
in 1633 describes '' Ice as high as our Top-HIast-Head." 



22 THE ANCIENT MARINER 

7^liVseel Did send a dismal sheen; 

jf^or shapes of men nor beasts 
we ken — 
The ice was all between. 

XV. 

The ice was here, the ice was 
there, 
The ice was all around: 
It cracked and growled, and 
roared and howled, 
Like noises in a swound! 

XVI. 

rd.\SSe- -^t length did cross an 
fh^gae^""^ Albatross: 

1. Sheen. Cold light. 

2. Ken. Discerned. 

3. Between. That is, everywhere the ice shut us in 
and obscured our view. 

7. Swound. Swoon, faint. The same old book 
says that the ice ^' made a hollow and hideous noise." 

8. Cross. That is, did cross our course. 

8. Albatross. A sea bird which has a habit of fol- 
lowing a ship for days together. Sailors regard it as 
an unlucky omen to kill one of them. 



THE ANCIENT MARINER 28 

rsTecTiVeS'' Thorough the fog it came ; 

rnJKs^fSy. As if it had been a Christian 

soul, 
"We hailed it in God's 

name. 

XVII. 

It ate the food it ne'er had 
eat, 
And round and round it 
flew. 
The ice did split with a thun- 
der-fit ; 
The helmsman steered us 
through ! 

XVIII. 

iS?at?os?;rov- Aud a good south wind 
I'ood ^oZinUn^ sprung up behind ; 

wrSoS- The Albatross did follow, 

1. Thorough. Ad old form of through. 

4. Had eat. An arcliaic form of eaten. 

6. Thunder-fit. A sound like thunder. 

8. South wind. The course changes to north. 



24 THE ANCIENT MARINER 

royfnSafiSg And every day, for food or 

ice. 

play, 
Came to the mariners' 
hollo! 

XIX. 

In mist or cloud, on mast or 
shroud, 
It perched for vespers 
nine; 
Whiles all the night, through 
fog-smoke white, 
Glimmered the white moon- 
shine." 

XX. 



Marite?'"' " God savc thcc, ancient Mari- 

inhospitablv , 

killeth the pious UCr I 



2. Hollo, Call. 

3. Shroud. One of the ropes that attach the mast- 
head to the side of the ship. 

4. Vespers. The evening prayers of the Church. 

4. Nine. That is, for nine vespers or nine days. 

5. Whiles. While. 



THE ANCIENT MARINER 25 

b^d^ofgood jnj.^j^ ^Yie fiends, that 

plague thee thus ! — 
Why lookst thou so?"— 
" With my cross-bow 
I shot the Albatross." 

1. Fiends. The Greeks personified the pangs of 
conscience as three Furies, or hideous women armed 
with claws, who pursued their victims through the 
world. 

2. Cross-bow. A massive bow for shooting mis- 
siles, used by the English in the middle ages. 



PART THE SECOI^D. 

XXI. 

" The Sun now rose upon the 
right: 
Out of the sea came he, 
Still hid in mist and on the 
left 
Went down into the sea. 

XXII. 

And the good south wind 
still blew behind, 
But no sweet bird did 
follow, 
Nor any day, for food or play, 
Came to the mariner's 
hollo! 

1. Right. They were now sailing north. The 
change of course is mentioned in Part One, Verse 
XVIII. 

27 



28 



His shipmates 
cry out against 
the ancient 
Mariner, for 
killing the bird 
of good luck. 



THE ANCIENT MARINER 

XXIII. 

And I had done a hellish 
thing, 
And it would work 'em 
woe: 
For all averred, I had killed 
the bird 
That made the breeze to 
blow, 
^ Ah, wretch! ' said they, ^the 
bird to slay, 5 

That made the breeze to 
blow!' 



But when the 
fog cleared off, 
they justify the 
same, and thus 
make them- 
selves accom- 
plices in the 
crime. 



XXIV. 

Nor dim nor red, like God's 

own head. 
The glorious Sun uprist: 
Then all averred, I had killed 

the bird 



2. 'Em. Them. This contraction was better usage 
in the early days of the language than it is now. 

3. Averred. Declared. 

8. Uprist. An old form for uprose. 



THE ANCIENT MARINER 



29 



That brought the fog and 

mist. 
^'Twas right,' said they, ^such 

birds to slay, 
That bring the fog and 

mist.' 



The fair breeze 
continues; the 
ship enters the 
Pacific Ocean 
and sails north- 
ward, eveji till 
it reachts the 
Line. 



XXV. 

The fair breeze blew, the 
white foam flew, 
The furrow followed free: » 
We were the first that ever 
burst 
Into that silent sea. 



XXVI. 



be^en'^udd^eniy Dowu dropt thc brcezc, the 
'^^^^"^'' sails dropt down, 



'Twas sad as sad could 
be; 



5. Furrow. That is, the wake or track made by the 
vessel. 

8. Down dropt, etc. Notice how slow is the rhythm 
of this line compared with line 6. 



30 THE ANCIENT MARINER 

And we did speak only to 
break 
The silence of the sea ! 

xxvn. 

All in a hot and copper sky, 
The bloody Sun, at noon, 

Right above the mast did 

stand, 5 

'No bigger than the Moon. 

XXVIII. 

Day after day, day after day, 
We stuck, nor breath nor 
motion ; 

As idle as a painted ship 
Upon a painted ocean. w 

XXIX. 

ttSse^blgtils t"o "Water, water, everywhere. 
And all the boards did 
shrink; 

3. All. That is, in the midst of a sky all hot and 
copper-hued. 

9. ^'As idle" etc. Two very often quoted lines. 



THE ANCIENT MARINER 81 

Water, water, everywhere, 
Nor any drop to drink. 

XXX. 

The very deep did rot: O 
Christ! 
That ever this should be ! 
Yea, shmy things did crawl 
with legs ' 

Upon the slimy sea. 

XXXI. 

About, about, in reel and 
rout 
The death-fires danced at 
night ; 
The water, like a witch's oils. 
Burnt green, and blue, and 
white. ^ 

2. Drink, The brackish sea-water Increases thSrit. 

7. Rout. Wild merry-making. 

8 . Death-fires. Balls of light, of an electrical origin, 
are sometimes seen about the rigging and prow of a 
ship. Sailors call them St. Elmo's fire or corposants. 

9. WUch'8 oils. Necromancers were fond of using 
strange fires in their practices. 



82 



THE ANCIENT MARINER 



XXXII. 



A spirit had 
followed them; 
one of the invis- 
ible inhabitants 
of this planet, 
neither depart- 
ed souls nor 
angels; con- 
cerning whom 
the learned Jew, 
Josephus, and 
the Platonic 
Const <ntinopol- 
itan, Micliael 
Psellus. may be 
consulted. They 
are very numer- 
ous, and there 
is no climate or 
element without 
one or more. 



And some in dreams assured 
were 
Of the Spirit that plagued 
us so: 
Nine fathom deep he had 
followed us' 
From the land of mist and 
snow. 



XXXIII. 

And every tongue, through 
utter drought, 
Was withered at the root; 
We could not speak, no more 
than if 
We had been choked with 
soot. 

1. Assured, Learned for certain. 

3. Fathom. A fathom is six feet. Nine is chosen 
arbitrarily as a mystical number. 



5. Utter. Absolute, unalleviated drought. 



THE ANCIEIST MARINER 



33 



XXXIV. 



The shipmates 
in their sore 
distress would 
tain throw the 
whole guilt on 
the ancient 
Mariner; in 
sign whereof 
they hang the 
dead sea-bird 
round his neck. 



Ah! well-a-day! what evil 
looks 
Had I from old and young ! 
Instead of the cross, the 
Albatross 
About my neck was hung. 



1. Well-a-day. An exclaraatiou ouce common, 
meaning, woes the day. It is a mixture of the latter 
•words and walaway^ an old expression of distress. 



The ancient 
Mariner be- 
lioldethaei^n 
in the element 
afar otf . 



PAKT THE THIRD. 

XXXV. 

There passed a weary time. 
Each throat 
Was parched, and glazed 
each eye. 
A weary time ! a weary time ! 
How glazed each weary 
eye! 
When looking westward, I 
beheld 
A something in the sky. 



XXXVI. 

At first it seemed a little 
speck. 
And then it seemed a mist ; 
It moved and moved, and 
took at last 
A certain shape, I wist. 

10. WUt. Became aware. 

2S 



36 



THE ANCIENT MARINER 

XXXVII. 

A speck, a mist, a shape, I 
wist ! 
And still it neared and 
neared : 
As if it dodged a water- 
sprite, 
It plunged and tacked and 
veered. 



At its nearer 
approach, it 
seemeth him to 
be a 8liip ; and 
at a dear ransom 
he freeth his 
speech from the 
bonds of thirst. 



XXXVIII. 

With throats unslaked, with 
black lips baked, 
We could nor laugh nor 
wail ; 
Through utter drought all 

dumb we stood! 
I bit my arm^ I sucked the 
blood. 
And cried, A sail! a sail! 



3. Sprite. Spirit. 

4. Tacked. Kept changing its course. 

5. Unslaked. That is, their thirst unslaked. 



THE ANCIENT MARINER 

XXXIX. 



37 



A flash of Joy. 



With throats unslaked, with 
black lips baked, 
Agape they heard me 
call; 
Gramercy! they for joy did 

grin, 
And all at once their breath 
drew in, 
As they were drinking all. 



Aud horror 
follows. For 
cau it be a 
ship that 
conies onward 
without wind 
or tide ? 



XL. 

See ! see ! (I cried) she tacks 
no more! 
Hither to work us weal — 



3. Gramercy. A corruption of the French words, 
grand merci, great thanks. 

3. Grin. Coleridge says, with reference to this 
passage : " I took the thought of grinning for joy from 
poor Burnett's remark to nie when we had climbed to 
the top of Plinlimmon, and were nearly dead with 
thirst. We could not speak for the constriction till we 
found a little puddle under a stone. He said to me : 
' You grinned like an idiot,' He had done the same." 

7. Weal. Good. To save us. 



38 THE ANCIENT MARINER 

Without a breeze, without a 
tide, 
She steadies with upright 
keel! 



XLI. 

The western wave was all 
a-flame, 
The day was well-nigh 
done! 
Almost upon the western 
wave 
Rested the broad bright 
Sun; 

2. Keel. The sloping bottom of a ship. Compare 
Longfellow's Ballad of Carmilhan : 

"■A ghostly ship, with a ghostly crew, 
In tempests she appears ; 
And before the gale, or against the gale, 
She sails without a rag of a sail, 
Without a helmsman steers." 

3. Wave. Sea. 

6. Broad. The sun appears larger and brighter 
when it is about to set. 



THE ANCIENT MARINER 39 

When that strange shape 
drove suddenly 
Betwixt us and the Sun. 

XLII. 

itBeemethwm Aud straigrht the Sun was 

but the skeleton -c^"^ "^ to 

^'^•^'p- flecked with bars, 

(Heaven's Mother send us 
grace!) 
As if through a dungeon- 
grate he peered, 
With broad and burning 
face. 

XLIII. 

Alas! (thought I, and my 
heart beat loud.) 

1 Strange shape. Coleridge's power is in the very 
fineness with whicli, as with some ghostly finger, he 
brings home to our inmost sense his inventions, daring 
as they are -the skeleton ship, the polar spirit, the 
Inspiriting of the dead bodies of the ship's crew; the 
Bime of the Ancient Mariner has the plausibihty, the 
perfect adaptation to reason, and the general aspect of 
life which belongs to the marvelous when actually pre- 
sented as a part of a credible experience in our dreams. 

— Walter Pater. 

4. Heaven's Mother. The Virgin Mary. 



40 



THE ANCIENT MARINER 



How fast she nears and 
nears ! 
Are those her sails that 
glance in the Sun, 
Like restless gossameres? 



And its ribs are 
seeu as bars on 
tlie face of the 
setting Sun. 
The Spectre- 
Woman and her 
Death-mate, 
and no other on 
board the skele- 
ton-ship. 



XLIV. 

Are those her ribs through 

which the Sun 
Did peer as through a 

grate ? 
And is that Woman all her 

crew? 
Is that a Death? and are 

there two? 
Is Death that Woman's 

mate? 



Like vessel, 
like crew ! 



XLY. 

Her lips were red, her looks 
were free, 



3. Gossameres. Floating cobwebs. 

7. A Death. He says a Death rather than Death 
because he asks himself, "Are there two Deaths, and is 
the Woman Death's mate?" 



THE ANCIENT MARINER 



41 



Her locks were yellow as 
gold : 
Her skin was as white as 
' leprosy, 
The Night-mare Life-in- 

Death was she, 
Who thicks man's blood 
with cold. 



XL VI. 



S-i)Ja?hh^ye" The naked hulk alongside 

diced for the 
ship's crew, 
and she (the 
latter) winneth 
the ancient 
Mariner. 



came, 
And the twain were cast- 
ing dice; 
^ The game is done ! I've 
won, I've won! ' 
Quoth she, and whistles 
thrice. 



2. Leprosy. An Eastern disease which eats away 
the flesh. 

5. Naked hulk. Without even planking. 

6. Casting dice. Throwing dice to see who should 
win the mariner, Death or Life-iu-Death. 



42 



THE ANCIENT MARINER 



No twilight 
within the 
courts of the 
Son. 



XL VII. 

The Sun's rim dips ; the stars 
rush out : 
At one stride comes the 
dark; 
With far-heard whisper, o'er 
the sea, 
Off shot the spectre-bark. 



XL VIII. 

ui Mooi'^*^ ^' We listened and looked side- 
ways up ! 
Fear at my heart, as at a cup, 
My life-blood seemed to 
sip! 
The stars were dim, and thick 

the night. 
The steersman's face by his 
lamp gleamed white; 
From the sails the dew did 
drip — 

3. WTiisper. The sound of the wind whistling 
through the naked hulk. 

9. Lamp. A small lamp always illuminates the 
compass in front of the steersman. 



THE ANCIENT MARINER 48 

Till clomb above the eastern 

bar 
The horned Moon, with one 
bright star 
Within the nether tip. 

XLIX. 

?noth«*'' C>^^ after one, by the star- 

dogged Moon, 
Too quick for groan or 
sigh, 
Each turned his face with a 
ghastly pang. 
And cursed me with his 
eye. 

L. 

S-'oVd&lld. Four times fifty living men, 

1. Clomb. Climbed. 

1. Bar. Horizon. 

2. Horned. That is, the moon was in the form of 
a crescent with two horns. 

8. Nether. Lower. 

4. Star-dogged. Followed. "It is acommon eupor- 
Btition among sailors that something is going to happen 
when stars dog the moon." — Coleridge. 



44 THE ANCIENT MARINER 

(And I heard nor sigh nor 
groan) 
With heavy thump, a Hfeless 
himp, 
They droppe^l down one 
by one. 

LI. 

Seau/itgL The souls did from their 

her work on the -, -• . ^ 
ancient Mariner. DOQieS tiy 

They fled to Miss or woe! * 
And every soul, it passed me 

by, 
Like the whizz of my 

cross-bow!" 

4. Sorcls. Compare Blake's picture of the soul 
parting from the body. 



PART THE FOURTH. 

LII. 

oStJ/elrSr "I fear thee, ancient Mariner! 

that a Spirit is 

talking to him; 1 fear thy skinny hand! 

And thou art long, and lank, 
and brown, 
As is the ribbed sea-sand. 

LIU. 

"I fear thee, and thy glittering 
eye, » 

And thy skinny hand, so 
brown." — 
Seit^Marfner "Fear not, fcar not, thou 

assiireth him of -ttt it /^i j » 

his bodily VV eddiu cr-iTuest ! 

life, and pro- '^ 

?atf hishorHbie This body dropt not down. 

penance. 

LIV. 

Alone, alone, all, all alone. 
Alone on a wide, wide sea,i(* 

4. Bibhed. A low tide; the sand has a rippled 
appearance, left by the receding waves. 

45 



46 



Hedesplsethtbe 
creatures of the 
ealia. 



And envleth 
that they should 
live, and bo 
many lie dead. 
But the curse 
llveth for him in 
the eye of the 
dead men. 



THE ANCIENT MARINER 

And never a saint took pity 
on 
My soul in agony. 

LV. 

The many men, so beautiful ! 

And they all dead did lie : 
And a thousand thousand 
slimy things 

Lived on; and so did I. 

LVI. 

I looked upon the rotting 
sea, 
And drew my eyes away: 
I looked upon the rotting 
deck, 
And there the dead men 
lay. 

LVII. 

I looked to Heaven and tried 
to pray; 



7. Hotting. A sea of stagnant water. 



THE ANCIENT MARINER 47 

But or ever a prayer had 
gusht, 
A wicked whisper came, and 
made 
My heart as dry as dust. 

LYIII. 

I closed my Uds, and kept 

them close, 
And the balls like pulses 

beat ; ^ 

For the sky and the sea, and 

the sea and the sky 
Lay like a load on my 

weary eye, 
And the dead were at my 

feet. 



LIX. 

\ The cold f 

in the eye of .t • t i 

the dead men . tUCir lim bS, 



Hve\hfor Mm Thc cold swcat melted from 



Nor rot nor reek did they ; lo 



1. Or ever. Before. 

10. Nor, etc. Remember that Life-in-Death had 
won the game. 



48 



THE ANCIENT MARINER 



The look with which they 
looked on me 
Had never passed away. 

LX. 

An orphan's curse would 
drag to Hell 
A spirit from on high; 
But oh! more horrible than 

that 5 

Is a curse in a dead man's 
eye! 
Seven days, seven nights, I 
saw that curse, 
And yet I could not die. 



In his loneliness 
and fixedness 
he yearneth 
towards the 
journeying 
Moon, and the 
stars that still 
sojourn, yet still 
move onward; 
and everywhere 
the blue sky be- 
longs to them, 
and is their ap- 
pointed rest, 
and their native 



LXI. 

The moving Moon went up 
the sky, 
And nowhere did abide: 
Softly she was going up. 
And a star or two be- 
side — 



THE ANCIENT MARINER 



49 



country and 
their own nat- 
ural homes, 
which tliey enter 
unannounced, 
as lords that are 
certainly ex- 
pected and yet 
there is a silent 
joy at their ar- 
rival. 



By the light of 
the Moon he 
beholdeth God's 
creatures of the 
great calm. 



LXII. 

Her beams bemocked the 
sultry main, 
Like April hoar-frost 
spread ; 
But where the ship's huge 

shadow lay, 
The charmed water burnt 
alway 
A still and awful red. 

LXIII. 

Beyond the shadow of the 
ship, 
I watched the water- 
snakes : 
They moved in tracks of 

shining white, 
And when they reared, the 
elfish hght 
Fell off in hoary flakes. 

Bemocked. An old form of mocked. 

Hoar-frost. White frost. 

Alway. Continually. 

Elfish. Mysterious, supernatural. So Keats 



10 



speaks of an elfin storm. 



60 



THE ANCIENT MARINER 



LXIV. 

Within the shadow of the 
ship 
I watched their rich attire : 
Blue, glossy green, and vel- 
vet black, 
They coiled and swam; and 
every track 
Was a flash of golden fire. « 



Their beauty 
and their 
happiness. 



LXV. 

O happy living things! no 
tongue 
Their beauty might de- 
clare : 
A spring of love gushed from 
my heart. 
And I blessed them un- 
aware ! 
Sure my kind saint took pity 
on me. 
And I blessed them un- 
ware! 



10. Kind saint. Every good Catholic had a patron 
saint. 



He blesseth 
them in his 
heart. 



THE ANCIENT MARINER 51 

LXVI. 

Jinrtrbreak. The selfsaiiie moment I 
could pray ; 
And from my neck so free 
The Albatross fell off, and 
sank 
Like lead into the sea. 

1. Pray. Themoralof the poem here appears. The 
moment the ancient mariner felt the impulse to bless 
instead of curse the happy, innocent creatures God has 
made, the curse began to depart from him. 



PAET THE FIFTH. 

LXVII. 

Oh sleep! it is a gentle 
thing, 
Beloved from pole to pole ! 
To Mary Queen the praise 

be given ! 
She sent the gentle sleep 
from Heaven, 
That slid into my soul. 

LXVIII. 

hoiy MotheV,^^ The sllly buckets on the deck, 
MarlnerTsVe- That had SO lonsf remained, 

freshed with ^ 

''^^'^- I dreamt that they were 

filled with dew; 
And when I awoke, it 
rained. 

1. Sleep. Read Shelley's beautiful Ode ta Sleep.. 
3. 3far7j Queen. The Virgin Queen of Heaven. 
6. Silly. Silly because useless, since they were 
empty of water. 

53 



54 THE ANCIENT MARINER 

LXIX. 

My lips were wet, my throat 
was cold, 
My garments all were 
dank; 
Sm-e I had drunken in my 
dreams, 
And still my body drank. 

LXX. 

I moved, and could not feel 
my limbs: * 

I was so light — almost 
I thought that I had died in 
sleep, 
And was a blessed ghost. 

LXXI. 

SundtyiSd ^^^ ®^^^ ^ heard a roaring 

seeth strange , '^Jl . 

sights and com- WinO. . 

2. Dank. Heavy with moioture. 

3. SuTQ. Surely. 

6. Light. As one after a long illness. 
8. Ghost. Spirit. 



THE ANCIENT MARINER 55 



rky^rdthe'^" It did not come anear; 

But with its sound it shook 
the sails, 
That were so thin and sere. 

LXXII. 

The upper air burst into life ! 
And a hundred fire-flags 
sheen, 
To and fro they were hurried 

about ; 
And to and fro, and in and 
out, 
The wan stars danced 
between. 

LXXIII. 

And the coming wind did 
roar more loud, 

1. Anear. Near. 

3. Sere. Dry aud withered. 

5. Fire-flags. Probably the Aurora or Northern 
Lights. 

6. Sheen. An adjective modif ying ^ag^s. 

8. Wan. Pale. They were rendered so by the 
lights. 



56 



THE ANCIENT MARINER 

And the sails did sigh hke 
sedge ; 
And the rain poured down 

from one black cloud; 
The moon was at its edge. 

LXXIV. 

The thick black cloud was 
cleft, and still 
The Moon was at its side : 5 
Like waters shot from some 

high crag, 
The lightning fell with never 
a jag, 
A river steep and wide. 



The bodies of 
the ship's crew 
are inspired, 
and the ship 
moves on ; 



LXXV. 

The loud wind never reached 

the ship. 
Yet now the ship moved 10 

on! 
Beneath the lightning and 

the Moon 



1. Sedge. Tall rushes. 



THE ANCIENT MARINER 57 

The dead men gave a 
groan. 

LXXVI. 

They groaned, they stirred, 
they all uprose, 
'Nov spake, nor moved 
their eyes; 
It had been strange, even in 
a dream. 
To have seen those dead 5 
men rise. 

LXXVII. 

The helmsman steered, the 
ship moved on; 
Yet never a breeze np- 
blew; 
The mariners all 'gan work 
the ropes, 
Where they were wont 
to do: 

4. Had. Subjunctive. It would have been strange. 

8. 'Gan. Began. 

9. Wont. Accustomed. 



58 THE ANCIENT MARINER 

They raised their limbs like 
lifeless tools — 
We were a ghastly crew. 

LXXVIII. 

The body of my brother's 
son 
Stood by me, knee to 
knee : 
The body and I pulled at 
one rope, 
But he said naught to me." 



LXXIX. 

fouis"ofSfe'^' " I fear thee, ancient Mari- 

men nor by • ., 

demons of earth liQT I 

or middle air. 

?.^?pVf aSc " Be calm, thou Wedding- 

spirits, sent ^^ . , 

down by the (jUCSt I 

invocation of 

the^guardian , rp^^g ^^^ ^^lOSe SOUlS that 

fled in pain. 
Which to their corses came 
again, 
But a troop of spirits blest : 

10. Corses. Corpses. 



THE ANCIENT MARINER 59 

LXXX. 

For when it dawned — they 

dropped their arms, 
And clustered round the 

mast; 
Sweet sounds rose slowly 

through their mouths, 
And from their bodies 

passed. 

LXXXI. 

Around, around, flew each 
sweet sound, 
Then darted to the Sun ; 
Slowly the sounds came back 
again, 
Now mixed, now one by 
one. 

LXXXII. 

Sometimes a-dropping from 
the sky 

5. Around, etc. Learn Stanzas LXXXI., LXXXII., 
LXXXIII.. and LXXXIV. 



60 THE ANCIENT MARINER 

I heard the sky -lark sing; 
Sometimes all little birds that 

are, 
How they seemed to fill the 
sea and air 
With their sweet jargon- 
ing! 

LXXXIII. 

And now 'twas like all in- 
struments, 6 
Now like a lonely flute ; 
And now it is an angel's 
song, 
That makes the heavens 
be mute. 

LXXXIV. 

It ceased; yet still the sails 
made on 
A pleasant noise till noon, lo 

1. Sky-lark. An English bird that sings as it 
mounts upward, and whose song is wonderfully 
beautiful. 

4. Jargoning. A confused murmur of sound. 



THE ANCIENT MARINER 



61 



A noise like of a hidden brook 
In the leafy month of 
June, 
That to the sleeping woods 
all night 
Singeth a quiet tune. 

LXXXV. 

Till noon we quietly sailed 
on, 6 

Yet never a breeze did 

breathe : 
Slowly and smoothly went 
the ship, 
Moved onward from beneath. 



LXXXVI. 



The lonesome 
Spirit from the 
south-pole 
carries on the 
ship as far as 
the Line, in 
obedience to the 
angelic troop, 
but still re- 
quireth 
vengeance. 



1. 
11. 



Under the keel nine fathom 

deep, 
From the land of mist and 

snow, 10 

The Spirit slid: and it was he 

Like of. Like that of. 

Spirit slid. See Stanza XXXII. 



62 THE ANCIENT MARINER 

That made the ship to go. 
The sails at noon left off 
their tune 
And the ship stood still 
also. 

LXXXVII. 

The Sun, right up above the 
mast, 
Had fixed her to the 

ocean : s 

But in a minute she 'gan 
stir, 
"With a short uneasy 
motion — 
Backwards and forwards half 
her length 
With a short uneasy 
motion — 

LXXXVIII. 

Then like a pawing horse 

let go, 10 

She made a sudden bound , 



THE ANCIENT MARINER 



63 



It flung the blood into my 
head, 
And I fell down in a 
swound. 

LXXXIX. 

How long in that same fit I 

lay, 

I have not to declare; 
But ere my living life re- 
turned, 
I heard and in my soul dis- 
cerned 
Two voices in the air. 



The Polar 
Spirit's fellow- 
demons, the 
invisible inhabi- 
tants of the 
element, take 
part la his 



xc. 

Is it he? ' quoth one, ^ Is this 
the man? 
By him who died on cross, 



3. FiU Trance. 

4. Have not. Can not. 

5. Living, That is, conscious life. He had been 
alive, but in a swoon. 

9. Him, Our Lord. 



64 



THE ANCIENT MARINER 



"Wrong; and 
two of them re- 
late, one to the 
other, that 
penance long 
and heavy for 
the ancient 
Mariner hath 
been accorded 
to the Polar 
Spirit, who 
returneth 
southward. 



With his cruel bow he laid 
full low, 
The harmless Albatross. 

XCI. 

The spirit who bideth by him- 
self 
In the land of mist and 
snow, 
He loved the bird that loved 
the man g 

Who shot him with his 
bow.' 



XCII. 

The other was a softer voice, 
As soft as honey-dew: 

Quoth he, ^ The man hath 
penance done. 
And penance more will do.' lo 

1. Full. An intensifjang word. 

3. Bideth. Abideth. 

8. Honey-dew. A secretion found on the leaves of 
some plants in hot weather in small frothy drops. 



PART THE SIXTH. 
XCIII. 

FIRST VOICE. 

^ But tell me, tell me ! speak 
again, 

Thy soft response renew- 
ing— 

"What makes that ship drive 
on so fast? 
What is the Ocean doing? ' 

XCIV. 

SECOND VOICE. 

^ Still as a slave before his lord, s 

The Ocean hath no blast. 
His great bright eye most 
silently 
Up to the Moon is cast — 

6. Blast. Violence. 

7. Bright eye. Compare the lines by Sir John 
Davies in speaking of the sea : 

" For his great crystal eye is ever cast 
Up to the moon and on her fixed fast." 

65 



66 



The Mariner 
hath been cast 
into a trance ; 
for the angelic 
power causeth 
the vessel to 
drive north- 
ward faster 
than human 
life could en- 
dure. 



THE ANCIENT MARINER 

xcv. 

If he may know which way 
to go; 
For she guides him smooth 
or grim. 
See, brother, see! how 
graciously 
She looketh down on him.' 

XCVI. 

FIRST VOICE. 

^ But why drives on that ship 
so fast, 5 

Without or wave or wind ? ' 

SECOI^D VOICE. 

^ The air is cut away before. 
And closes from behind. 



XCVII. 

Fly, brother, fly! more high, 
more high! 
Or we shall be belated: lo 



THE ANCIENT MARINER 



67 



For slow and slow that ship 
will go, 
When the Mariner's trance 
is abated.' 



The supernat- 
ural motion is 
retarded; the 
Mariner 
awakes, and his 
penance begins 
anew. 



XCVIII. 

I woke, and we were sailing on 

As in a gentle weather: 
'Twas night, calm night, the 
Moon was high; 6 

The dead men stood to- 
gether. 

XCIV. 

All stood together on the 
deck, 
For a charnel-dungeon 
fitter: 
All fixed on me their stony 
eyes 
That in the Moon did 

glitter. 10 

2. Abated. That is, dispelled. 

4. As. As if sailing in a gentle kind of weather. 

8. Charnel. A dungeon of bones, a tomb. 



68 THE ANCIENT MAKINER 

c. 

The pang, the curse, with 
which they died. 
Had never passed away : 
I could not draw my eyes 
from theirs, 
Nor turn them up to pr?y. 



CI. 

And now this spell was 
snapt: once more 
I viewed the ocean green, 

And looked far forth, yet 
little saw 

Of what had else been 
seen — 



The curse is 
finally exjiiatod. 



CII. 

Like one that on a lonesome 

road 
Doth walk in fear and 

dread, lo 

And having once turned 

round, walks on. 



THE ANCIENT MARINER ^9 

And turns no more his 
head; 
Because he knows a fright- 
ful fiend 
Doth close behind him 
tread. 

cm. 

But soon there breathed a 
wind on me, 
Nor sound nor motion { 
made: 
Its path was not upon the 
sea. 
In ripple or in shade. 

CIV. 

It raised my hair, it fanned 
my cheek 
Like a meadow-gale of 
spring — 
It mingled strangely with my lo 
fears, 
Yet it felt like a welcoming. 

6. Was not. That is, was not made visible. 



70 THE ANCIENT MARINER 

cv. 

Swiftly, swiftly flew the ship, 
Yet she sailed softly too: 

Sweetly, sweetly blew the 
breeze — 
On me alone it blew. 

CVI. 

^nVMarmer Oh! dream of joy! is this 

beholdeth his • i i 

native country. inCleeCl 6 

The light-house top I see? 
Is this the hill? is this the 
kirk? 
Is this mine own countree? 

CVII. 

We drifted o'er the harbor- 
bar. 
And I with sobs did pray — jo 

5. 0^, etc. Compare Stanza VI. 

8. Countree. A form of country common in old 
ballads. 

9. Harbor-bar. A bank of saiid or gravel forming 
au obstruction to the entrance of a harbor in low tide. 



THE ANCIENT MARINER 71 

^O let me be awake, my God! 
Or let me sleep alway.' 

CVIII. 

The harbor-bay was clear as 
glass, 
So smoothly it was strewn! 
And on the bay the moon- 
light lay, 5 
And the shadow of the 
Moon. 

CIX. 

The rock shone bright, the 
kirk no less, 
That stands above the 

rock: 
The moonlight steeped in 
silentness 
The steady weathercock. lo 

1. Awake. Let this prove real or let me dream 
always. 

4. Strewn. That is, the light was so evenly dis- 
tributed all over it. 

10. Steady. The weather was so still that the vane 
was steady. 



72 



The angelic 
spirits leave 
the dead 
bodies, 



THE ANCIENT MARINER 



ex. 



And the bay was white with 



silent light, 



Till rising from the same, 
Full many shapes, that 
shadows were. 
In crimson colors came. 



And appear in 
their own forms 
of light. 



CXI. 

A little distance from the 
prow 
Those crimson shadows 
were : 
I turned my eyes upon the 
deck — 
Oh, Christ! what saw I 
there ! 



CXII. 

Each corse lay flat, lifeless 
and flat, 
And by the holy rood ! lo 

10 Bood. Cross. 



THE ANCIENT MARINER 73 

A man all light, a seraph- 
man, 
On every corse there stood. 

CXIII. 

This seraph-band, each 
waved his hand: 
It was a heavenly sight I 
They stood as signals to the 
land, 
Each one a lovely light : 

CXIV. 

This seraph-band, each 
waved his hand, 
No voice did they impart — 
No voice; but oh! the 
silence sank 
Like music on my heart, i 

cxv. 

But soon I heard the dash 
of oars, 

(5. Signals. At night vessels signal the pilot by 
placing lights on the deck. 



74 THE ANCIENT MARINER 

I heard the Pilot's cheer; 
My head was turned perforce 
away 
And I saw a boat appear. 

CXVI. 

The Pilot, and the Pilot's 
boy, 
I heard them coming 

fast : 6 

Dear Lord in Heaven ! it was 
a joy 
The dead men could not 
blast. 

CXVII. 

I saw a third — I heard his 
voice : 
It is the Hermit good! 

1. Cheer. Call. 

2. Perforce. Of necessity. 

9. Hermit. In the Middle Ages men often withdrew 
from the world and lived quite alone in caves or deserts, 
that they might give their lives entirely to the service 
of God. 



THE ANCIENT MARINER 75 

He singeth loud his godly 
hymns 
That he makes in the 
wood. 
He'll shrieve my soul, he'll 
wash away 
The Albatross's blood. 

3. Shrieve. Receive my confessiou, and pardon or 
absolve me from my sin. 



PART THE SEVENTH. 

cxvni. 

Z'ilft'''' This Hermit good lives in 
that wood 
Which slopes down to the 
sea: 
How loudly his sweet voice 

he rears! 
He loves to talk with mari- 
neres 
That come from a far 
coimtree. 

CXIX. 

He kneels at morn, and noon, 
and eve — 
He hath a cushion plump: 

3. Bears. Raises. 

4. Marineres. An archaic spelling. 

7. Cushion. A cushion on which to pray, such as is 
found in churches or cathedrals. 

77 



78 THE ANCIENT MARINER 

It is the moss that wholly 
hides 
The rotted old oak-stump. 

cxx. 

The skiff-boat neared: I 
heard them talk, 
^Why this is strange, I 
trow! 
Where are those lights so 
many and fair. 
That signal made but 
now?" 

CXXI. 



fhKTptUS ' Strange, by my faith !' the 

wonder. -^^ . . -, 

Hermit said — 
^ And they answered not 
our cheer! 
The planks looked warped! 
and see those sails 

3. Skiff-boat. Skiff, a small boat. 

4. Trow. Think. 

9. Warped. Shrunken and cracked. 



THE ANCIENT MARINER 79 

How thin they are and sere ! 
I never saw aught like to 
them, 
Unless perchance it were 

CXXII. 

Brown skeletons of leaves 
that lag 
My forest-brook along; 
When the ivy-tod is heavy 

with snow, 
And the owlet whoops to the 
wolf below 
That eats the she-wolf's 
young.' 

CXXIII. 

^ Dear Lord ! it hath a fiend- 
ish look ' — 

2. Aught. Anything. 

3. Perchance. Perhaps. 

6. Ivy-tod. Ivy-bush. 

7. Owlet. Small owl. 

9. Fiendish. An evil look as if it were the look of 
a fiend. 



80 THE ANCIENT MARINER 

(The Pilot made reply) 
^ I am a-feared ' — ^ Push on, 
push on ! ' 
Said the Hermit cheerily. 

CXXIV. 

The boat came closer to the 
ship, 
But I nor spake nor stirred ; 5 
The boat came close beneath 
the ship. 
And straight a sound was 
heard. 

cxxv. 

Sfifnketh. Under the water it rumbled 
on. 
Still louder and more 
dread : 
It reached the ship, it split 

the bay; 10 

The ship went down like 
lead. 

2. A-feared. Afraid. 

7. Straight. Straight-way, immediately. 



THE ANCIENT MARINER 81 

CXXVI. 

SSSf Stunned by that loud and 

saved in the in 

Pilot's boat. dreadful sound, 

Which sky and ocean 
smote, 
Like one that hath been 
seven days drowned 
My body lay afloat; 
But swift as dreams, myself 
I found 
Within the Pilot's boat. 



CXXVII. 

Upon the whirl, where sank 
the ship. 
The boat s]3un round and 
round : 
And all was still, save that 
the hill 
Was telling of the sound.: 

7. Whirl. The sinking ship made a kind of whirl- 
pool. 

10. Was telling. Echoed the sound. 



82 THE ANCIENT MARINER 

CXXVIII. 



I moved my lips — the Pilot 
shrieked 
And fell down in a fit; 
The Holy Hermit raised his 
eyes 
And prayed where he did 
sit. 

CXXIX. 

I took the oars : the Pilot's 
boy, 5 

Who now doth crazy go, 
Laughed loud and long, and 
all the while 
His eyes went to and fro. 
^ Ha ! ha ! ' quoth he, ^ full plain 
I see. 
The Devil knows how to 
row/ 10 

cxxx. 

And now, all in my own 
countree, 



THE ANCIENT MARINER 83 

I stood on the firm land! 
The Hermit stepped forth 
from the boat, 
And scarcely he could 
stand. 

CXXXI. 

The ancient f /^ ^l, • i • 

Mariner earn- vJ siirieve mc, shrievc mc, 

estly entreateth ' 

the Hermit to Vinl-u- Tr»cji-» f ' 

shrievehim; ^^^J mail i 

ance of uf "falls Thc Hcrmlt crosscd his 

on him. 

brow. 5 

^Say quick/ quoth he, ^I bid 
thee say — 
What manner of man art 
thou?' 

CXXXII. 

Forthwith this frame of mine 
was wrenched 
With a woful agony, 
Which forced me to begin 

my tale; lo 

And then it left me free. 

5. Crossed. Made the sign of the cross. It is 
supposed to ward off all evil influences. 



84 



THE ANCIENT MARINER 



And ever and 
anon through- 
out his future 
life an agony 
constrainetn 
him to travel 
from land to 
land. 



CXXXIII. 

Since then, at an uncertain 
hour, 
That agony returns; 
And till my ghastly tale is 
told, 
This heart within me 
burns. 



CXXXIV. 

I pass, like night, from land 
to land; 5 

I have strange power of 
speech ; 
That moment that his face I 
see, 
I know the man that must 
hear me : 
To him my tale I teach. 

5. I pass, etc. Compare the legend of the wander- 
ing Jew. He struck Christ on His way to Calvary and 
the Lord doomed him to wander on earth until the Day 
of Judgment. Until this day he goes from land to 
land unable to find a grave. 

9. Teach. Tell. 



THE ANCIENT MARINER 85 

cxxxv. 

What loud uproar bursts 
from that door! 
The wedding-guests are 
there : 
But in the garden-bower the 
bride 
And bride-maids singing 
are; 
And hark the little vesper bell, 6 
Which biddeth me to 
prayer ! 

CXXXVI. 

O Wedding-Guest ! this soul 
hath been 
Alone on a wide, wide sea : 
So lonely 'twas, that God 
himself 
Scarce seemed there to be. lo 

CXXXVII. 

O sweeter than the marriage- 
feast, 



86 



THE ANCIENT MARINER 



'Tis sweeter far to me, 
To walk together to the 
kirk 

With a goodly com- 
pany!— 

CXXXVIII. 

To walk together to the 
kirk, 
And all together pray. 
While each to his great 

Father bends. 
Old men, and babes, and lov- 
ing friends. 
And youths and maidens 
gay! 



And to teach, by 
his own exam- 
ple, lore and 
reverence to 
all things that 
God made and 
lovfcth. 



CXXXIX. 

Farewell, farewell! but this 
I tell 
To thee, thou Wedding- 
Guest ! 10 

He prayeth well, who loveth 
well 



THE ANCIENT MARINER 87 

Both man and bird and 
beast. 



CXL. 

He prayeth best, who loveth 
best 
All things both great and 
small ; 
For the dear God who loveth 
us, 
He made and loveth all." & 

CXLI. 

The Mariner, whose eye is 
bright, 
Whose beard with age is 
hoar, 
Is gone : and now the Wed- 
ding-Guest 
Turned from the bride- 
groom's door. 

2. He prayeth. Learn this stanza. It is the moral 
of the poem. 



88 THE ANCIENT MARINER 

CXLII. 

He went like one that hath 
been stunned, 

And is of sense forlorn : 
A sadder and a wiser man, 

He rose the morrow morn. 

2. Forlorn. Deprived of his sense of outward 
things. 



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